It’s been a surprising start for the Trevor Siemian led Denver Broncos (2-0) and Sunday they take their show on the road. The Buffalo Bills (1-1) will host the bucking horses with a 1 p.m. EST kick off on your local CBS affiliate.
The Game: Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills (+3)
O/U: 39.0
The History
As two of the original AFL franchises, the Broncos and Bills go all the way back to 1960. Buffalo leads the all time series, 20-16-1.
The longest streak in the rivalry belongs to Buffalo, who won nine consecutive games from October, 1962 to October, 1987. The Broncos were more recent beneficiaries of terrible Bills’ coaching as they won five in a row from September, 1995 to September, 2007.
The two teams have only met once in the playoffs, with the Bills winning 10-7 on January, 12, 1992 during the Jim Kelly “K Gun” era where the team went to, and lost, four consecutive Super Bowls.
Denver and Buffalo are forever linked as teams that ended up with franchise quarterbacks in the loaded 1983 NFL Draft. The funny thing is, the Broncos didn’t actually draft John Elway, the Colts did, and while the Bills drafted Jim Kelly, he actually started his career in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers.
DENVER BRONCOS (2-0)
I’ve already brought up Siemian in the lede, but it bears mentioning again how well the third-year man out of Northwestern has played this season. He’s completed 65 percent of his passes for 450 yards, six touchdowns with two picks and currently has a quarterback rating of 106.9.
Now, he’s done that against two of the mid-range defenses in the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers, but those numbers are nothing to ignore. He’s finding a way to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands and, for the most part, protected the ball.
The Broncos improved their offensive line this off-season and it’s already showed up in the running game. C.J. Anderson piled up 118 yards and a touchdown last week with Jamaal Charles coming off the bench for nine carries that were worth 46 yards. Left tackle Garrett Bolles, after fearing he’d be lost for the season last week, actually practiced Thursday and Friday and is listed as questionable on the injury report. I expect him to play, but get a quick hook if he shows any signs of ankle issues.
On defense, Von Miller is dealing with a sore knee but that didn’t stop him from racking up two sacks on Dak Prescott last week.
BUFFALO BILLS (1-1)
The Bills have some major injury problems coming into this one that will certainly impact the game. Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is out with an ankle injury and offensive tackle Cordy Glenn has an injured foot too. He won’t play either. You don’t want to face Denver’s pass rush without your best offensive lineman or their run game without your best defensive lineman. Yet, here the Bills are.
Whatever anyone wanted to believe (or pretend) about quarterback Tyrod Taylor coming into this season, these first two games have showed his talent level. He’s a high end back up and will spend the rest of his career holding a Microsoft Surface tablet or Star Trek Tricorder, whatever the league is using in 10 years. Last week against the Panthers, he managed only 125 yards on 17 completions and just like a lot of running quarterbacks, he didn’t throw a pick, but also didn’t convert third downs, score points or win the game.
With Taylor ineffective and no real downfield threat in the passing game after both Sammie Watkins and Marquise Goodwin fled upstate New York, LeSean McCoy’s running room has disappeared. While he’s the kind of guy that can do a lot of the work on his own, I don’t see it happening against Denver this week.
The Pick
It’ll be interesting to see how Siemian holds up on the road, but I don’t think he’ll have to do a lot to come away with a victory here. The Bills won’t be able to move the ball at all and their defense, especially in the middle, should be overmatched. Broncos 23, Bills 6
This Week
Straight up: 1-0
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 11-5
Against the spread: 8-8
Season
Straight up: 21-10
Against the spread: 16-15
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